By Lenne Bonner, CEO

I’m sure one thing we can all agree on is that time goes by faster and faster each year. That is no exception in the healthcare industry. I look back at 2022 and reflect on everything we were able to accomplish, while being astonished at the fact that I am now sitting down to update everyone on what is in store for 2023, when it seems like I just got used to writing 2022 as the year!
One of the most exciting accomplishments of 2022 is the completion of our hospital remodel. Many of you have probably seen the new and improved hospital spaces, but for those who haven’t, we were able to convert our old clinic space into an endoscopic suite with a procedure room and four pre and post-operative rooms on the west side of the hall and an outpatient treatment space on the east side which includes cardiac rehab, pulmonary rehab, stress echo, ultrasound and some clinic exam rooms. The waiting room received a much needed face lift as well. Additionally, we were able to remodel all of the inpatient rooms to add a bathroom to each room so we now have a private bathroom in each inpatient room. We also converted most of our inpatient rooms to single occupancy rooms for added privacy and comfort for our patients.
We have some exciting developments we are looking forward to in 2023 as well. First, we have officially launched our Clearwater Valley Health Sleep Lab. We are taking referrals for in home sleep studies; as well as, in house sleep studies when necessary. This is an exciting new service line for us to bring to our communities. Secondly, we were the lucky recipients of the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust grant to provide funds to purchase our own mobile mammography unit to be able to bring 3D mammography services to each of our communities we serve. Thank you to our St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Health Foundations for contributing the remaining matching funds for this purchase. We are grateful that our partnership with Kootenai Health allows us to keep expanding services in our community. We continue to explore the ability to do tele oncology visits, with the hope that we will be able to do the chemotherapy infusions locally, under the direction of the Kootenai Health oncology team, in the future. We have two Kootenai Health General Surgeons, Dr. Chalmers and Dr. DeTar, coming monthly to do colonoscopies and EGD’s for us. We also have Kootenai Health’s Dr. Landry, Vascular Surgeon, who comes onsite to do a clinic monthly. We continually look at specialties we refer out and explore ways of bringing them to you all locally as we recognize the inconveniences traveling can bring.
We are fortunate to bring to you two new providers in 2023 as well. Laura Noyes is a new Physician Assistant who will be starting in early February and Nikki Walls is a Nurse Practitioner who will be starting in early March. Laura and Nikki will be great additions to our provider team. Finally, I would like to thank John Beeh for his many years or providing exceptional healthcare to our communities as he ventures into his retirement life in early 2023.
Thank you all for supporting us as your local healthcare provider. We strive to provide high quality healthcare and be the leader in rural healthcare each and every day. I hope 2023 brings you good health, lots of love, and plenty of laughter…and maybe time will slow down enough to enjoy each day to its fullest!